She cession The Gendered Impact of COVID 19

International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (IJTSRD)
Volume 7 Issue 4, July-August 2023 Available Online: www.ijtsrd.com e-ISSN: 2456 – 6470
@ IJTSRD | Unique Paper ID – IJTSRD59704 | Volume – 7 | Issue – 4 | Jul-Aug 2023 Page 490
She-cession: The Gendered Impact of COVID-19
Ahona Halder1
, Subhangi Dey2
1
Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
2
Jadavpur University, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
ABSTRACT
The COVID 19 Pandemic has made the world witness a sharp decline
in the employment rates, but what is more concerning is that it has
caused a “she-cession”. A she-cession is an economic downturn
where job and income losses adversely affect women more than men.
As per empirical evidence, the she-cession isn’t just lingering, but is
getting worse. So, a comprehensive approach that addresses the root
causes of the she-cession and thereby paves the way for a she-covery
is crucial. Turning the she-cession into she-covery is even more
challenging in developing countries like India, where women face
discrimination on a wide range of grounds. Though, it might take a
lot of time to achieve gender parity in the workforce, but with the
implementation of certain policies and practices, the world will
eventually converge towards a she-covery situation.
KEYWORDS: she-cession, she-covery, female labour force
participation rate, COVID 19 Pandemic, inequality, employment
JEL Classification: E24, J16, J21
How to cite this paper: Ahona Halder |
Subhangi Dey "She-cession: The
Gendered Impact of COVID-19"
Published in
International
Journal of Trend in
Scientific Research
and Development
(ijtsrd), ISSN:
2456-6470,
Volume-7 | Issue-4,
August 2023, pp.490-495, URL:
www.ijtsrd.com/papers/ijtsrd59704.pdf
Copyright © 2023 by author (s) and
International Journal of Trend in
Scientific Research and Development
Journal. This is an
Open Access article
distributed under the
terms of the Creative Commons
Attribution License (CC BY 4.0)
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)
I. INTRODUCTION
The impact of COVID 19 on employment has been
significant and far-reaching. The pandemic has
caused millions of people to lose their jobs as
businesses have closed or reduced their operations
due to lockdowns, supply chain disruptions, and
reduced demand. Industries such as hospitality, travel,
and retail have been particularly hard hit. However,
women have experienced higher rates of job loss than
men during the pandemic, particularly in the female
dominated industries such as hospitality, personal
care services, retail, and education. Women are also
more likely to work in part-time or low-wage jobs
without benefits, leaving them more vulnerable to job
loss and financial instability. Furthermore, the
pandemic has exacerbated existing gender
inequalities, such as the unequal burden of caregiving
responsibilities that fall disproportionately on women.
Women of colour have been particularly hard hit by
the she-cession, as they are more likely to work in
sectors that have been heavily impacted by the
pandemic and face systemic barriers to economic
security. This paper has provided us with empirical
evidence as to how much the female labour force
participation rate has declined post COVID 19
Pandemic. It also addresses the root causes behind
such an economic downturn and how the situation is
graver and appalling in developing countries. Finally,
the paper talks about some policy suggestions that
governments and employers can undertake to address
these challenges and build a more resilient and
inclusive labour market that prioritize gender equity
and promote the economic empowerment of women.
II. Empirical Evidence
Female Labour force participation rate is the
proportion of the female population ages 15 and older
that is economically active: all people who supply
labour for the production of goods and services
during a specified period. It depicts the percentage of
women who are either employed or actively looking
for work out of the total female population that is of
working age. It is a measure of the extent to which
women are engaged in the labour force and
contributing to the economy. The labour force
participation rate is an important indicator of
economic activity and can be influenced by a variety
of factors such as cultural norms, government
policies, and economic conditions. A higher female
labour force participation rate can lead to greater
IJTSRD59704

International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development @ www.ijtsrd.com eISSN: 2456-6470
economic growth and social empowerment for
women. However, after the outbreak of COVID 19,
the employment rates have seen a sharp decline, but
what has been observed is that there the fall in
employment rates have hit the female population
more deeply compared to men. The following graph
(based on World Bank’s data) depicts the trend in the
female labour force participation rate over the years,
and how it witnessed a drastic fall post COVID 19
Pandemic:
Fig 1. Female Labour Force Participation Rate in the World from 2015 to 2021
As per the data provided by World Bank, the labour force participation rates are as follows-
Labour Force Participation Rate
Labour Force (ages 15 years and
older)
Male (% ages
15 and older)
Female (% ages
15 and older)
Total (in
millions)
Female (% of
labour force)
2015 2021 2015 2021 2015 2021 2015 2021
East Asia and Pacific 76.2 73.6 59.6 58.9 1258.4 1279.6 43.8 44.4
Europe and Central Asia 65.4 64.7 51.3 51.6 433.2 435.9 46.1 46.4
Latin America and Caribbean 76.6 73.9 50.7 49.8 289.3 301.01 41 41.5
Middle East and North Africa 71.6 70.4 20.2 18.2 142.9 153.2 20.6 19.4
North America 68.6 67.3 56.5 56.1 179.5 185.8 46.1 46.3
South Asia 76.3 73.9 24.7 24.8 632.6 655.9 23.7 24.4
Sub-Saharan Africa 72.6 72.4 60.7 60.4 384.6 451.2 46.3 46.2
World 73.8 71.9 47.7 47.1 3320.5 3462.6 39.4 39.7
The data provided in the table gives an overview of the labour force participation rates and labour force statistics
for different regions of the world between the years 2015 and 2021. The labour force participation rate measures
the proportion of the population that is either employed or actively seeking employment, and is expressed as a
percentage of the total population aged 15 years and older. The labour force represents the total number of
people who are either employed or unemployed but seeking work.
The world, as a whole, has witnessed a fall in both the male and female labour force participation rates over the
years. However, the data depicts that the female labour force participation rate is generally lower than the male
rate, and this gender gap has not significantly narrowed between 2015 and 2021. Overall, the data indicates that
there are still significant differences in the labour force participation rates among regions of the world and more
importantly between genders. Thus, the data underscores the importance of promoting greater labour force
participation, particularly for women. So, policies and interventions to address the underlying causes of low
labour force participation rates will be critical to ensure inclusive and sustainable economic growth.
III. Root Causes
The pandemic did not create new gender inequalities in the workforce, but it is noteworthy that it did
substantially exacerbate existing inequalities. The most prevailing inequalities for women include unequal pay,
sexual harassment, racism, and greater inequities in promotion and raise negotiation practices compared to their

male counterparts. Women are also often overrepresented in certain sectors such as health, social services, and
education; and are underrepresented in other sectors such as professional, scientific, financial, and technical
services. Women also face barriers in advancing into leadership roles, despite being more educated than men on
average and constituting nearly half of the workforce. Moreover, the Pandemic has aggravated the situation
many folds. The root causes of the COVID 19 Pandemic induced she-cession are complex and multifaceted.
Several factors that have contributed to the disproportionate impact of the Pandemic on women's employment
and economic security are listed below:
Occupational segregation: Women are more likely to work in industries that have been disproportionately
affected by the pandemic, such as retail, hospitality, and healthcare. Many of these jobs have also been
undervalued and underpaid, exacerbating the economic insecurity faced by women.
Caregiving responsibilities: With the closure of schools and childcare facilities, many women have had to take
on increased caregiving responsibilities, making it difficult for them to maintain their employment or advance in
their careers. Women are more likely to take on caregiving responsibilities, and the lack of affordable and
accessible childcare options has created an unsustainable situation for many working mothers.
Gender wage gap and discrimination: Women face persistent gender wage gaps and discrimination in the labour
market, which have further exacerbated the economic insecurity faced by women during the pandemic. Women
are also more likely to work in part-time or temporary positions, which provide less job security and fewer
benefits.
Informal economy: Women are more likely to work in the informal economy, which has been particularly hard
hit by the pandemic. Women who work in the informal economy often have limited access to social protection,
such as unemployment benefits or sick leave, making them more vulnerable to income losses and economic
insecurity.
Lack of social protections: Women are more likely to work in jobs without access to paid leave, health
insurance, or other benefits that can help provide a financial cushion during times of economic downturn. This
lack of social protection can further deteriorate economic insecurity for women during a crisis like the COVID-
19 Pandemic.
IV. Developed and Developing Countries
Unlike any other modern recession, the downturn triggered by the COVID-19 Pandemic has created larger
employment losses for women than for men globally. In developed countries, women have been
disproportionately affected by job losses and reduced working hours during the pandemic due to their
overrepresentation in sectors such as hospitality, retail, and healthcare. Women also tend to work in more
precarious and part-time jobs, which has made it difficult for them to access financial assistance and social
protections during the pandemic.
Example: She-cession in the US
Based on data from all US recessions since 1949, it has been observed that the 2020 recession deviates most
sharply from the historical norm in its disparate gender impact. The fact that job losses are much higher for
women not only matters for gender equality, but also reduces families’ ability to offset income losses, producing
a deeper and more persistent recession. Not too long ago, the term ‘man-cession’ gained currency to describe the
disproportionate impact of recent recessions on men’s employment (Johnson 2009, Wall 2009). In the Great
Recession of 2007-2009, millions of men in sectors such as construction and manufacturing lost their jobs, while
women experienced meagre employment losses.
Man-cessions became the norm starting in the 1970s, a time when women’s labour force participation was
sharply increasing. This trend has been observed till 2019, but the question is, what led the US economy to
notice such a trend in its labour force participation rate? One force behind such a trend is the big, structural
changes that took place in the US economy over the past half century. In particular, manufacturing has declined
as a share in the economy and services have increased. The decline in manufacturing has tended to reduce male
participation rates, and the increase in services has tended to increase female participation rates. Manufacturing
used to hire a lot of relatively low-skilled, low-educated workers, most of whom were men. Technology,
however, has made manufacturing much more productive. Such advancements in technology have reduced the
necessity of these low-skilled line workers and so, the kind of workers that the manufacturing sectors then
started hiring were highly educated software engineers. Hence, the decline in manufacturing jobs have hit the
low-skilled and low-educated male workers pretty hard. These workers were then unable to find jobs in other

sectors of the economy as well. On the other hand, women have benefited from a shift to the service economy.
Sectors that traditionally employed a lot of women such as education and healthcare, have in fact grown over the
years. It has also been observed that compared to men, women have increased their education levels. Overall,
more and more women found employment in relatively stable sectors such as education, healthcare, and other
parts of the service economy, which eventually led to a rise in the female labour force participation rate in the
US.
However, as a consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2019, the US economy entered its sharpest economic
downturn since the Great Depression. This recession has been qualitatively different from other recessions not
just in its cause, but also in the patterns of its labour market impact. Arguably, the sharpest deviation from the
historical norm is the impact of the recession on the employment of women versus men. The sectors which have
a high female labour force representation, such as hospitality and retail, have been the hardest hit sectors in the
Pandemic. The challenges caused by the Pandemic are even greater for women who are self-employed, or those
working in the informal sector as domestic workers or street vendors, due to the precarious nature of their jobs. It
has also been observed that with the closure of schools, women have been burdened with increased childcare
responsibilities with their professional lives. Also, during the Pandemic, more men have been given job
promotions than women. All these factors have contributed to the decline in the female labour force participation
rate in the US economy post Pandemic. The following graph depicts the increasing trend in the female labour
force participation rate in US, and how the COVID 19 Pandemic has led to a sharp decline in the rate:
Fig 2. Female Labour Force Participation Rate in the United States from 2015 to 2021
Nevertheless, the severity of the she-cession in developing countries is more pronounced and can be attributed to
various factors, such as the overrepresentation of women in the informal economy, limited access to social
protections, weak labour protections, and gender inequalities.
In developing countries, women are often concentrated in low-paid, low-skilled, and informal jobs, which have
been hit hardest by the pandemic. This has resulted in job losses, reduced working hours, and lower wages for
women. Additionally, many women are employed in sectors that have been directly affected by the pandemic,
such as hospitality, retail, and tourism. Women in developing countries are also more likely to work in sectors
such as agriculture and textiles, which have been severely impacted by supply chain disruptions and reduced
global demand. Moreover, women in developing countries often have limited access to social protections, such
as paid sick leave, maternity leave, and healthcare benefits. This makes it difficult for them to cope with the
economic and health consequences of the pandemic.
Weak labour protections and gender inequalities in developing countries further exacerbate the she-cession.
Women often face discrimination in the workplace, including unequal pay, limited access to promotions, and
harassment. Women in developing countries also tend to have less access to education and training, which limits
their opportunities for upward mobility.
Example: She-cession in India
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the female labour force participation rate in India was low compared to
other countries. In the last century, the world has witnessed great strides in terms of women’s economic
participation. On an average, the female labour force participation rate (FLFPR) increased from 40 percent to 51

percent for the OECD countries during 1960-2016. On the other hand, the Indian subcontinent, home to 17 per
cent of the world’s women population, is in the company of 9 countries where FLFPR has plummeted.
According to International Labour Organization estimates, India’s FLFPR dropped from 32% in 2005 to 21% in
2019 – the lowest rate in South Asia, and among the lowest in the world. This precipitous drop in women’s
engagement in the labour market has attracted the attention of academics and policymakers alike. Though in
terms of absolute numbers more men lost their jobs by April 2020 (over 100 million men against 17 million
women) but in percentage terms the impact of COVID-19 on women's employment is proportionately greater
and worse (women's employment dropped by 39% against 29% decline in men's employment). The situation
continues to be deteriorating even today.
Low FLFPR in India is necessarily a complex social phenomenon. There is low support in the Indian society for
working women. This arises from patriarchal structures, which dictate that women prioritise their domestic
responsibilities over professional aspirations. According to 2014 OWID data, India’s female-to-male ratio of
time devoted to unpaid care work stands at 9.83, which is the third highest in the world. Therefore, 62.1 per cent
of the women in 15-59 age group were involved in domestic duty participation in 2017-18. The cultural norms
that place the primary responsibility of routine domestic tasks on women, limit their ability to participate in the
labour market.
During the period 2012-2018, 65 million men and 63 million women were added in the Indian working age
population. The LFPR for men remained stagnant while the LFPR for women observed a downward trend
depicting the job market was able to absorb the growing number of male workers but it was not the case for
female workers. Women have borne the brunt of this growth mainly because of two reasons. First, the
mechanisation of agriculture including seed drills, threshers etc have reduced manual jobs that were mostly
performed by women. Second, India’s manufacturing sector has not created labour intensive jobs that could be
taken up by women who have been displaced from agriculture.
According to the most recent Periodic Labour Force Survey, out of the population of working women, more than
90 percent work in the informal sector. Informal jobs entail increased exploitation, harassment, poor working
conditions and lack of mobility. This acts as one of the main impediments to female participation.
Nonetheless, the Pandemic has caused further deterioration of the already existing dire situation of female labour
force participation rate in India. Therefore, the she-cession in India has significant implications for gender
equality and women's economic empowerment, and highlights the need for policies and programs that support
women's employment and economic status. The following graph depicts the declining trend in the female labour
force participation rate in India, and how the COVID 19 Pandemic has aggravated the situation:
Fig 3. Female Labour Force Participation Rate in India from 2015 to 2021
V. The Way to She-covery
"She-covery" is a term used to describe the potential
for women's employment and economic security to be
a key driver of post-pandemic recovery. The term
recognizes that women have been disproportionately
affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and that
targeted policies and actions are needed to address
gender inequalities in the workplace and beyond. So,
policy makers and companies can come up with
certain policies and initiatives that address the
barriers that women face in accessing quality
employment opportunities and balancing work and

caregiving responsibilities. Given below are a few
suggestions that will support women’s economic
participation and leadership, thereby helping the
world to recover from the abysmal she-cession.
Providing flexible work arrangements: Companies
can provide flexible work arrangements such as
remote work or reduced hours to help women balance
work and family responsibilities.
Addressing childcare and eldercare needs: One of the
main barriers to women's participation in the
workforce is the lack of affordable and accessible
childcare and eldercare. Governments and companies
can provide support for childcare and eldercare to
help women balance work and caregiving
responsibilities towards their families.
Addressing gender bias and discrimination: Gender
bias and discrimination in the workplace, one of the
most predominant issues in developing countries, can
prevent women from achieving their full potential.
Companies can address gender bias and
discrimination by promoting diversity and inclusion,
ensuring that women are represented in leadership
positions and decision-making processes, and
providing equal pay and opportunities for
advancement.
Supporting women's leadership: Governments and
companies can support women's leadership by
ensuring that women are represented in leadership
positions and decision-making processes.
Investing in reskilling and upskilling: Governments
and companies can invest in reskilling and upskilling
programs to help women who have lost their jobs or
have been forced to leave the workforce due to the
pandemic. This can help women acquire new skills
and knowledge that are in demand in the post-
pandemic economy.
Ensuring access to social protections: Providing
access to social protections such as unemployment
benefits, sick leave, and healthcare can help to reduce
the economic insecurity that women may face during
periods of job loss or economic uncertainty.
VI. Concluding Remarks
The she-cession has had a significant impact on
women's employment and economic security,
particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 Pandemic.
The Pandemic has highlighted the systemic
inequalities that women face in the labour market,
including
the gender pay gap, unequal access to promotions and
leadership roles, and discrimination in hiring
practices and workplace. Women are also
disproportionately affected by caregiving
responsibilities, which can hinder their work-life
balance and thereby limit their employment
opportunities. While the she-cession has had a
significant impact on women's employment across the
globe, the severity of the impact may be greater in
developing countries where women face additional
barriers to employment and economic security. To
overcome the she-cession, a concerted effort from
policymakers, employers, and society as a whole is
required to tackle the structural and cultural barriers
that women face in the labour market and to promote
gender equity and women's economic empowerment.
Overall, addressing the she-cession is essential for
promoting a more equitable and inclusive society and
ensuring that women are able to fully participate in
the labour market and contribute to economic growth
and stability.
References
[1] The She-cession: How the Pandemic Forced
Women from the Workplace and How
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[2] https://www.forbes.com/sites/lizelting/2022/02/
12/the-she-cession-by-the-
numbers/?sh=25ff9c631053
[3] Thory, & Manda, Sunita. (2020). SHE-
CESSION IN INDIA: MAPPING THE
GENDERED DIMENSION OF COVID-19.
45-50.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/36495
0674
[4] World Bank Open Data. (n.d.-b). World Bank
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https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.TLF.C
ACT.FE.ZS
[5] The she-cession (she-recession) of 2020:
Causes and consequences. (2020, September
22). CEPR.
https://cepr.org/voxeu/columns/shecession-she-
recession-2020-causes-and-consequences
[6] Contributors, E. (2021c, June 13). No place for
women: What drives India’s ever-declining
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[7] Deora, S. (2023). What’s going on with India’s
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